Land Acquisition For India’s First Bullet Train Between Mumbai-ahemdabad Begins

The Indian Railway has begun land acquisition for the country’s first bullet train project between Mumbai and Ahmedabad. Railways require 1,100 hectares of land for constructing the 508 km high speed corridor, for which land acquisition plan has been submitted to the local administration in 12 districts of Maharashtra and Gujarat. A top railway official said at that least 70 per cent of land has to be acquired before actual construction work begins.

“Tenders cannot be floated unless 60 to 70 per cent of the land is acquired. As per the Japanese practice, actual construction work can be started only after getting possession of the land. This essentially aims at ensuring uninterrupted work,” said a senior railway ministry official. He said the prime minister’s office was closely monitoring the progress of the project and the authorities have been clearly instructed to avoid any delay in the execution of the project.

The alignment of the corridor passes through 9 districts of Gujarat and 3 districts in Maharashtra, for which the details of land acquisition have been submitted to the district administration. The district administration has been told to begin the land acquisition process at the earliest, officials said, adding that the process has to be completed by March next year. Read More…